Lawmakers Renew Push for Bus Regulation After Latest Crash

Steve Helber/Associated PressRescue personnel on Tuesday worked at the scene of a bus accident in Bowling Green, Va., that killed four passengers.

New York State lawmakers on Tuesday called for stricter regulations of the tour-bus industry only hours after there was a fatal crash in Virginia involving a bus returning to Chinatown.

Lawmakers have been pressing for a bill from the Legislature since March when a tour bus crashed, killing 14 people who were returning to Chinatown from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.

While bus companies typically fall under the purview of federal regulators, the lawmakers want the city’s Department of Transportation to start requiring local buses to apply for permits. One lawmaker, State Senator Daniel L. Squadron, a Democrat who represents parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, said he wanted the city to have more information on file about bus companies and their drivers.

“Locally, we can do more,” Senator Squadron said. “Creating on a local level a permitting system would give the city information for the first time ever on who’s operating here and other background information. And it would allow the city to work more closely with the federal regulators to go after the companies that are the biggest risks.”